Well? How was it? What about the weather? Did you behave in Cirencester?...

All of your questions will be answered in my report. :-)

I hope you'll enjoy reading it. :-D

24 November 2013

Seasickness, queues, standing on the wrong side of the road, looking for the way for an hour, blisters...Was it al worth it?

Oh my God, absolutely: Yes!!!

It was Tuesday morning, 19 November 2013.

5 AM and I was wide awake. I tried to go back to sleep but it didn't work. I was anxious to go. I waited til 6.15 AM when I heard my husband left and stepped out of bed. I didn't want to be in his way and I didn't want him to be in my way. I tend to fall out when I'm stressed and the last thing I needed before I left for a few days was a fight. :-P

I was supposed to leave at 8.20 AM but when it was 7.50 I thought: 'Sod it! I'm leaving! My mother has to put up with me the coming days and when I'm early she can get used to me already.' whahah

So I was at her house half an hour later, put all my stuff in her car and we left. My mother likes to be early too so she didn't mind.

The journey to the ferry went smooth. A bit more traffic around the big cities than we are used to but nothing shocking.We were excited to see how it would be on the ferry. They did a really good job informing us how it all works and where to go.

It was a nice ferry. Lots of things to see, shops, casino, lounge seats.An hour before departure we were sitting in front of the window looking out over the sea.

I had booked a cabin for the way back because we were taking the night ferry and had to sleep but not for the way to England. Mainly to safe costs. But when they broadcasted that you could still book one, it seemed like a very good idea. We already drove for more than three hours and we liked the idea of relaxing for a few hours and booked the cabin. It was an outside cabin with a window so we could see where we were going. whaha

We laid down and turned on the tv. We watched the safety instructions which we thought were very funny. Just like you see on a airplane. On the next channel they had a camera on the prow and we could see there were no icebergs in the way. :-D After that there were just the normal tv channels.

We weren't on the way for long until I was seriously considering various other ways to travel to the Convention next year because I suddenly became seasick! I never in a million would have thought that that would happen to me.My mother fell asleep for a little while and I was looking at the clock every ten minutes, hoping that the time could go a little faster. It was a very long 6,5 hours. whaha

At first I didn't say anything of course. But my mother saw it and said:' You're very pale.' So I knew I had to admit to her that I was sick. :-D

It was 5.15 PM and my mother suggested we go to the restaurant. I really didn't know how that would go. I just hoped I didn't have to vomit. The last thing I wanted was food. whaha Very out of character for me, I might add. :-P

'Maybe they have something for your seasickness.' My mother said. But I had already taken something for migraine, which of course couldn't stay away either. So I didn't think it was a wise idea to combine two medicins. whaha

But after we ate, carefully and not to much :-P, it did seem to go a bit better.We absolutely had no GBP's yet, because there would be an ATM on board but when we tried it, it didn't work on either bankcard or creditcard. I became very nervous.The first B&B I had to pay by creditcard, I knew that. So I hoped it was just the ATM, like the staff said but I wasn't feeling at ease.

I was so glad to get of the ferry at about 20.15. It was about 20 minutes to the Old Courthouse Inn, in Great Bromley. If it were up to me, I would have made the three hour drive to Cirencester immediately but my mother wanted to stay the night close to the harbour because the travel was tiring. I figured, she had to drive so she had the last say in that. After all, I didn't want to get us killed in an accident caused by exhaution. :-)

When we arrived they said they couldn't find our reservation! 'Oh,' I thought, 'what else can go wrong?' Luckily they had a room left and I paid. The man was very nice and helped me with my first payment. I'd never used the card except for on the ferry, when it didn't work.He gave me some advice not to tell my code to anyone or let them take my card out of sight.And what do you know? It actually worked!!! I was over the moon!

We slept in room 9. Every room was named after a horse. Ours was named Arkle. After a horse that won the Cheltenham Cup at one point. whaha I don't remember the year. We put our stuff in the room, called home to say we had arrived and headed back to the bar for a last drink before we went to sleep.

The owner and his wife asked us if we were headed back for Harwich. I said we'd just arrived and what we were going to do in Cirencester. I took the oportunity to talk about Robert. They didn't seem to know 'Robin of Sherwood' but they did knew 'Excalibur.' I don't know if they remembered Robert but maybe they looked it up on the internet later. :-)

I slept reasonably well in despite of all the nervs. I couldn't wait to get to Cirencester in the morning.I was up at 6 and we were expected at the breakfast table at 7.30.

We had a wonderful English breakfast with beans, sausage, egg, bacon. But way to much because we aren't used to that. :-)With a full stomach we left the B&B shortly before 8.30.

To Cirencester!!!

We expected a bit of traffic but nothing could have prepared us for what came our way.

Around London it was queue after queue and when we finally made it through, after 4,5 hours, and it looked like we just were going to make it, my mother had to go to a lavatory so bad that we had to leave the mainroad! I was not happy. Looking around in Slough for a lavatory we just stopped at a daycare centre and explained the situation. They were very nice and we could use their facilities. I thanked the nice lady and called her a life safer.

I'd already called the B&B because I knew we were not going to make it before the Planting like I'd annouced. They said it was no problem at all.

Back on the main road my mother pushed the pedal in so hard and didn't care anymore if we were driving left or right, we just had to get there as fast as we could. The navigation equipment said we were going to be almost 15 minutes late and I was not happy. I never thought of asking the girls for their number so I couldn't call them to say I was late. What a great first impression I would make by turning up late like some diva. whaha And I was concerned that I would never find the Memorial Gardens on my own.

My mother was driving so fast and the traffic was playing along so nicely that we quickly gained 10 minutes back. We had heavy rainfall and even a lot of hail and I was concerned about how we could plant the Tree in this weather and film it without drowning the camera. But the closer we came to Cirencester, the better the weather became. Which was a miracle to me because when I last checked the weather online before we left it said that it would rain and we'd have some sleet.

When we finally arrived in the town centre and drove past the Town Counsil I recognized Alison from her picture on Facebook first. I was so happy they were still there! My mother parked the car at a spot we were not sure we could use and told me to get out of the car and run to the girls while she figured out where to park or what to do.

I ran, well ran.. stumbled over to the girls and introduced myself. It was a bit strange for me to meet everyone in real life. I didn't really know what to say. I was happy that Jackie talked a lot. I turned around and saw my mother still parked at the same spot. I excused myself again and headed back. She wasn't sure if she wanted to park at the B&B because she wouldn't have found us again in the park and than she found a spot at the other side of the street. You could park there for an hour with a parking disc. We didn't know if an hour was going to be enough and if our Dutch parking disc would be valid here. So during the planting my mother was a bit nervous.She does understand a bit of English but it's hard for her to speak it and so she was a bit quiet.

Jackie asked what the plan was. I had no plan. whaha I was just glad we arrived in time and I had to get my thoughts straight again.

It was all a bit overwhelming. But in a good way.Just being there on time, meeting new people, the planting, the fact that I was finally in Cirencester!

It was cold and windy but we had so much sunshine when we walked over to Jack Gardner's Memorial Garden and on our way we passed the Parish Church and The Crown. We talked about Robert looking down on us and sending us a lot of sun.

It was so surreal. I had seen pics on the internet and it was so strange but so wonderful to see it all in real life. I don't think it had sunk in yet.

Before we left for England I slowly and bit by bit told my mother which places I wanted to visit. Luckily she did seem to be enthausiastic. :-)

We walked through the Abbey Grounds and I was surprised we were there so fast. Magdalena had told me that the distances between places were relatively small and she was right.

When we got to the Memorial Garden we saw a few other small trees with plaques.

Then we waited. We talked a bit but it was still a bit strange. Maybe also because we were waiting on what was about to come.

Suddenly we saw the a car arrive. That must be the Cirencester Town Counsil!

It came closer and we saw the tree on top. It stopped and we walked towards it. The men in the car took a while before they came out of it. I felt like they were treatened by so many ladies. We slowly approached the car like we were zombies and ready to devour them. whaha

I saw the car say 'Cirencester Town Counsil' on the side. I was so happy!

They came out of the car and were ready to go. We talked to them and Alison introduced herself to Mr. Conyers, who was one of the men, as the lady who had been contacting him by email for the last couple of months.

They started digging and we were watching and making pictures. My mother was filming.

When the hole was dug and they put the Tree in it we got to symbolically scoop two shovels of ground back in.For some reason they wanted me to go first. I was honoured but a bit scared. I felt like it was more the other girls' place. They've been in the fandom for so long. I'm just the newbie.

Then the other girls were put to work and even my mother got a turn. That was very nice of them.

A moment that was special for me was when they put the stone with the Plaque in the ground. I can't explain why. I think it was because it was now official Robert's Tree. For everyone to see.

The men obviously had a lot of practice and were done in a jiffy.

Here is the video of the Planting. :-) :

My mother was releaved and wanted to almost run back to the car.On the way back I think everyone was happy and the mayority of the nervs were gone and we talked a bit more.I was walking next to Monika. A very nice girl from Poland. I had spoken to her a few times in the chat but it's so much different when you meet someone face to face and know who you are talking to.

The girls were all cold and went to The Crown for a nice warm drink. We would take our car and stuff to the B&B and join them later.

When we got to the Apsley Villa Guest House we were greeted by the lady of the house. She was very nice. My mother thought we should take of our shoes to not walk mud through the poor ladies' B&B. She wanted to clean my shoe because it had mud on the side but I told her No! My craziness was lurking around the corner. :-P (I know you were waiting for that, Tanja. whahaha)

I asked if she had a tissue for me because I wanted to safe some 'holy' ground of Cirencester from my first trip. whaha I have it in a TicTac box now. :-P

The whole trip kind of felt like a pilgrimage. Here I was in the town of my hero. Walking the street he once walked and visiting the places he once visited. Keep in mind that it was my first time there. :-)

I could see the other girls were real Cirencester experts, all confident, acting normal, while I was bouncing all over the place, looking around like I contantely saw our sweet Lord walk over water. whahaha

We got back to The Crown.Jackie immediately offered us something to drink. The tea I had was lovely. So was the place. I looked around and tried to spot the ghost they talked about on their website. Someone in my Robert Addie Fan Page on Facebook made the funny comment a while ago that maybe it was Robert. So naturaly I wanted to see him. :-P

I was sitting next to Alison who had the famous Pony Annual with her and two photoalbums. It was so wonderful to see them. I was trying to be really careful with it. I can imagine how precious those are to her.She told me a few things about the Cons and Robert while we looked through the pics and I was enjoying it very much. Alison is a very sweet girl and so much fun to talk to.

I had a blast sitting with the ladies. We had a lot of fun. I tried to get my mother a bit involved. Although my English obviously is not perfect, for her it was very difficult to follow the conversation at times and especially when we talked about Ros, the Cons and Robert. Because she doesn't know a lot about that. :-)

At some point Alison had to leave to catch her ride home and shortly after that Monika had to go.Jackie wanted to get back to her B&B, which was next to ours, and we decided to walk with her. Monika walked with us the first bit and than our ways parted.

Jackie asked what we were going to do for supper. We had no plans so we agreed to meet up later after a nice warm shower and some fresh clothes.

In the meantime I tried to get my laptop up and running. I read the instructions my husband gave me, found the wifi code on the door of the B&B but couldn't find the available network.I don't think it was the network's fault. I think it was my lack of technical insight. wahahaSo I couldn't join the Memorial Chat. :(I put the pictures I made of the Planting from my camera on the computer so I had room for more pics and we left to meet up with Jackie again for some Chinese food.

It was lovely and we talked about the fandom, our husbands and doggies and all the other stuff we could come up with. I think she's a lovely woman. Very kind and funny and a great story teller.The food was really good and after we split the bill we rolled back to the B&B's.Jackie, are you sure the bill was split right? I really didn't realise when we were there but later on I thought, you paid more than half and that can't be right because you were alone and we were with two persons. I'll send you some money back if you want or spoil you with drinks and food next year during the Con. :-)

When I was lying in my bed that night a lot of things ran through my head. Still couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was around 2 AM and I had to get up to get to the lavatory. Then my mother went and I couldn't get back to sleep. After a while I heard my mother snorring a bit and I sat up. My bed was standing right underneath the window and I just had to look outside. In the dark I stuck my head behind the curtains and looked out. I think then it really dawned on me: 'I am in Cirencester!!!'

I laid on the bed again en had a smile on my face. I took me some time to fall asleep again.

It was 6 'o' Clock when I woke up again. I was ready for the day!!But breakfast was at 8 and my mother was still asleep. :-)I took my phone out and watched some Robert Addie clips without the sound on. Especially the Ros clips I'd seen so many times that I knew exactly what they were saying and I could hear the voices in my head.My mother woke up about 30 minutes later and we talked a bit before we got up for a shower and packed our stuff.

The original plan was visit Robert's grave first and after that walk around Cirencester to play tourist for a while. But we decided to do that first so we could maybe keep the car parked in the parking space of the B&B.So we asked during breakfast and didn't even have to say how long we were going to be gone. The nice gentleman replied with: 'Yes of course! No problem, don't worry about it.'So that took some of the time pressure off.

The owner took some time to talk to us and asked about the Planting. When I dropped the name 'Excalibur' he seemed to know who Robert was. I told him we would be looking at some places in Cirencester today and see the Tree one more time and he replied with: 'Yes, this is his area.' And I hadn't mentioned before that Robert lived in Cirencester. I thought that was kind of cool.

We left the B&B at about 8.30, walked around town and first went to the Cirencester Park and the River Walk. It was really beautiful. The trees had wonderful autumn colours and although it was a bit grey and dark during breakfast, the sun quickly appeared and stayed with us during the day. I felt very blessed. And I'm not even religious.

I had new shoes on and one of them was more narrow then the other I think, or my feet are not the same size. whahaha And it wasn't long before I had a blister the day before.

This morning I quickly gained 2 more and because I had been walking a bit funny, trying to spare my painful toe, I got a slight muscle ache in one foot.

My mother asked if we should really walk that distance through the town and park because of my blisters but I told her: 'Hell yeah! We're in Cirencester! I wanna see everything. I don't care about a few little blisters.' And as long as we were walking it wasn't half bad. :-)

Our next stop was the Parish Church. But we couldn't get inside because there was a funeral going on. So we walked to the Tree first. I wanted to check if it was still there. :-P And say our goodbyes. :-)Luckily is was still there. :-D

The tracks of the Counsil car were still visible in the grass and I made a picture of that. :-P

When we walked out of the grass on to the street my mother noticed she had stepped into dog poop and spend the next half hour trying to get it of. Made some nice tracks of her own in the grass, abused a poor sidewalk and stepped in every puddle of water she came across on the way back.

But she succeeded in the end.

The funeral was still going on in the church so we went to The Crown, which just opened.We saw it was already noon! Our plan was to eat some fish and chips in 'Friar Tuck's fish and chips' but when we noticed it was already so late (we wanted to leave for the ferry sometime between 3 and 4) we decided to eat something here.

When we were in The Crown the day before I forgot to take my camera and make some pics. So I had to come back. :-) Like a true tourist. I recognized the owners at the bar from the picture on their website. I saw the man who was standing behind the bar yesterday talking to them. I think it must have been their son. I was looking around for the ghost again but no luck.

We ordered some drinks and food at the bar and while waiting I saw a five pence coin on the floor. I know it would have been the right thing to give it to the lady behind the bar but maybe it was a present from the ghost? whahah So I put it in my purse.

We had a beefburger with cheese and bacon and chips. Oh, it was so good!!! I didn't regret at all that we couldn't get to the other place in time! But again, way to much for us to eat it all.

When I went to the lavatory my craziness followed me. :-P I saw that men and woman had to go through one door to get to their own lavatory. It looked old. Maybe at some point Robert walked the same route and touched that door! So I went a second time before we left and took my camera whahah And made a picture of the door. :-D

We said goodbye and left for the Church.

We were greeted by two older man, one was a guide but had to do some other stuff and the other one gave us a folder about the Church and what we could see. I can't begin to tell you how impressive and beautiful it was. I can imagine Robert liked to sit here.

In the folder they talked about 'Tom and Jerry', a cat and mouse looking down from the roof in the Lady Chapel. We looked for it but couldn't find it. We didn't mind. It's so beautiful and there were so many other parts to see.

We walked out of the chapel.

The standers where the coffin for the funeral had been standing on were still there in the front of the church.

Suddely the guide was standing behind us. He was very nice and we talked a bit. He said he was tidying up after the funeral. He told us it was a girl, 15 years old who had commited suicide. He said he knew her well. I said I was so sorry for his loss. 'Actually,' he said, 'She was my grandson's girlfriend.' I was shocked. 'Oh no, how is your grandson doing?' I asked.'Oh, heartbroken.' he just said. At that point I was about to cry. I could feel his pain. I couldn't say anything useful and looked at the ground.Suddenly his face changed and he said in a more cheerful tone: 'Did you find Tom and Jerry?'

That reminded me of my grandfather. To avoid breaking down, just change subjects.

We told him 'no' and he walked with us and pointed it out.I started to laugh. 'Hahaha, that spotlight on Tom and Jerry is a good hint isn't it?' He laughed too. The only light in the chapel was to show visiters where the cat and mouse where. How could we have missed that?! whaha

Later we looked at some paintings because there was an exposition. They had some nice work. But expensive. In a small corner there was a little shop with prayer cards, books, pins, thimble's and other Cirencester Parish Church souvenirs.I bought a domed thimble and donated all the coins I had left in my wallet to the church. Except for the five pence coin. :-)

We left the church and wanted to pick up some postcards before we would leave to find Robert's grave. We also bought some souvenirs for my husband, brother and his girlfriend. I bought a necklace for my self. I'm a sucker for shiny things. Maybe because my maiden name is Raven? Oh no, a bird who drags shiny stuff into his nest is a Magpie isn't it? whahaha I bought a necklace with a star hanger because, after all, we came to Cirencester to plant a Tree for our star. :-D

I wanted to pay by creditcard but it was declined. 'Yes, our machine doesn't like Mastercard.' By that time we had walked by loads of ATM's in the street so I asked if I could go and withdraw some money and than come back. That was fine. Right next to the shop I could get some money, we went back and paid. We got some change back. When I put it in my wallet I saw she gave me another five pence. Oh oh. :-)

We hadn't seen a mailbox anywhere and decided to post the cards at home. :-)

Quickly walked to the B&B to say goodbye and get the car. We were running out of time.We thanked our hosts for the wonderful stay and the fact we were allowed to leave the car there while we were in Cirencester and continued our way.

The street with the church and graveyard was not on the navigation system and there was a roadblock. We asked a postman where we had to be but he didn't know exactly. We drove around for an hour, saw the church tower appear once in a while and had to stop for petrol.

At some point my mother said that we were going to try one more time because we had to catch the ferry. I know she was right but I wanted to pay my respects so bad! And than I felt a bit ashamed that I didn't even remember to bring something for him.

We decided to park the car and find the last bit on foot. We were scanning the marketplace for a parking space when suddently I saw the name of street we needed to be in! I was so happy! Again, how could we have missed it! The streetsign was right there and big! The church was in sight too.

We parked the car and walked over. My heart was pounding in my thoath. Someone told me before how to walk to find it and when we got there.. Nothing. We couldn't find it!

We walked on and on and in the meantime I found myself making up a whole new religion because the sun was disapearing and I yelled at my mother, who was walking 20 meters in front of me: 'We're going the wrong way! Cause Robert is turning out the light!!' And I was begging him to show us the way. Point a spotlight on it, like at Tom and Jerry and show us where to go.

When the sun disapeared behind the clouds it became very cold and dark. We were walking all over the place and I feared we would never find it. It was 3 'o' Clock already and it looked like the sun wasn't coming back. I was afraid it would become dark so soon that we wouldn't be able to see anymore.

I knew we were at the wrong side of the cemetary when we walked around a few rows of stones. And still I had hope we would find him.

'We have to try to find someone and ask now, before it's getting to dark.' My mother agreed and we headed back.

We were in luck, I had seen people walking around who were at work in the church and I asked a grey haired man. I think he was the vicar, he took us inside and said not to pay attention to the papers everywhere. They were preparing for (yet another) funeral and were very busy.

He said there was no map of where everyone was laying so he couldn't guarantee anything.I felt anxious and rushed and I didn't dare to hope anymore.

He pulled out a book and asked for Robert's name and the date of his passing. I knew that of course. At first he couldn't find it. A woman, who I assume was his wife joined and asked who we were trying to find. I told her. She mumbled something to her husband, I think. Which I couldn't understand. I looked up as I heard: '..Marjorie..' It seems she knew his mother well.

'Yes! That's his mother!' All hope was back because she knew who I meant and in the middle of my last sentence I tried to get my voice down, otherwise I would have been screaming to her of happiness.

Than he saw the name in the book. And told us the way.It was hard to follow and I tried my best to pay attention. We went up the same route as we did before. It seems we were on the right way.It was still a bit dark but it seemed to be a little bit more light than before. Or maybe it looked that way because we came out of the dark hallway of the house without windows.

I was so nervous. I couldn't find the two rows of stones we had to see now.My mother was walking in front of me again.I noticed a small red bouquet and some other things in a row. Then it hit me!

'Mom!'

My mother turned around. I stooped down and wiped a pile of leaves to the side.A stone appeared. The stones were literally buried in a thick layer of leaves. Someone could have told us that. whaha

My mother got immediately what I was doing and quickly freed the stones until we found.. Robert!

I was sitting in front of it on my knees, wiping all the leaves of off it and around it with my hands and there it was. The closest I would ever come to Robert.

After a while I stood up. My mother stood next to me. It was silent.Finally I had some time to look around. It was a beautiful place, very peaceful and very quiet. It was getting a bit darker again and there was a cold wind that blowed the last leaves out of the trees and over the leaves on the ground. It wasn't long before the first leaves tried to cover Robert's grave again. I felt saddness and calmness at the same time. It was a strange and emotional experience, my first time here.

When we walked back to the car we didn't speak. I had still those mixed feelings. I was relieved we found it in the end and you can't help but think, even if it's for a short moment, that you wished you could turn back time and this never happened. But I tried to not think about that. It's no use and you have to accept.In my head I thanked Robert a thousand times for helping us find our way and our wonderful stay in Cirencester.

Back at the car we hadn't said much yet, took of our jackets and made ourselfs comfortable for the drive back to Harwich. It was almost 3.40 so we had to move.We set the navigation system, which send us back to the direction of Cirencester and I filmed some of the way. We passed the Polo Club again and it wasn't long before we hit the main road on the way to Harwich again.

We expected a lot of traffic, we remembered way to Cirencester on Tuesday. :-)But we didn't have any queues at all this time! The stars were coming out and I still stuck to my new religion and choose the brightest one as Robert to guide us back to the boat. Thanking him again and asked him to keep us safe on our way.

Back on the ferry at 22.15 PM we watched a bit of tv and went to bed.

I was surprised that I didn't get seasick this time. I didn't feel very good but at least not on the verge of vomiting. whahaMaybe on the way to England the nervs also played a part and caused me to feel a bit sick. I don't know.I didn't sleep much that night. I heard the sound of the engines and the people who, apparently, weren't going to sleep. :-P

I thought about everything we did in the last couple of days. My pilgrimage was over. whaha

I had a blast. I saw so many great things and talked to so many lovely people, in particular the girls of AddiesFaction. I had to digest that for a while. I felt happy.

The next morning we had to get up at 6.30 AM and get some breakfast. I didn't feel hungry. And part of me was afraid the nausea would return if I did eat something. I ate my roll with cheese very slowly and all went right. I was happy to get of the ship at 8 AM.

The roads were familiar and nothing had changed while we were gone. :-)I was tired and couldn't wait to get home. When we got to my mother's home I packed my stuff into my own car and left after a stop at her lavatory, some small talk and a big thank you to my mother for joining me and for the great time.

I raced home and was greeted by my doggies. My husband had the afternoons off in the last week to take care of them but wasn't home yet. I immediately unpacked my bags and got into the shower. I heard my husband come home. He isn't really a talker but couldn't stop talking now. whaha I guess he did miss me. :-P

We watched the pictures I made and the video and then he send me to bed first. I wasn't about to say no to that. I was exhausted. :-)

A few hours later I had to drag myself out of bed or I wouldn't be able to sleep in the night.

I got online and saw all the girls arrived home safe and sound. There were a lot of messages. I saw Alison and Jackie had already posted their pictures of the planting. So much fun to watch!

I posted mine that evening and on Saturday I managed to get the video of the Planting online. And than I started writing this report... :-)

..Oh yes, the five pence coin.

I emptied out my wallet and looked at the 2 coins. The fronts were different from each other. Now, which one was the one from The Crown?? I didn't remember. I put them both on the ground. Maybe that would help to recognize the right one, only it didn't. :-P

I was drawn to the one that was apparently newer and shiny. But then I turned them over.

The shiny one was from the year 2012. I looked at the older one. You'll never guess! The year was 2003!!!

If it wasn't a present from the ghost (of Robert) whaha, than at least he could have used it once, hypothetically speaking. :-P So I kept that one.

I looked for a coin hanger online for the 18 mm coin but their all bigger. I don't want to drill a hole into it so I worked it into an old watch in my own creative way. :-P and maybe in time, I will find the right hanger for it. :-)

As for now, tomorrow normal life begins again and I'm sure I'll think back to my first time in Cirencester a whole lot.Can't wait for the Con next year! :-D

Jolanda (19:04, 23 feb 2014)

Thanks for your lovely message Charith. How great that Robert has fans even in Sri lanka! xx

charith (19:08, 8 jan 2014)

hey. do u know we are great fans of robin hood. and Addies fans too. we miss him alot too. from Sri Lanka with love.

Tanja (2:50, 10 dec 2013)

That is a real good sign. There´s much more discipline and good behaviour in other countries than in Germany. Sometimes I think, behaving bad, loud and disturbing is a sign of freedom here for the people. I would bet, they would take the stone soon or paint it or anything else, if it would be as standing here as free as it is standing in Cirencester. When you travel by train, right and left you find no building, no bridge no nothing without graffity here. I hate this.

Jolanda (18:53, 2 dec 2013)

Indeed Tanja, I hope people will know better than to do that. But after seeing Cirencester I think it won't come to that. My mother noticed how clean the place was and we saw no graffiti or broken things.

Tanja (12:04, 2 dec 2013)

Hello Jolanda,

I hope, that no stupid people will ever take the stone from that place, just because they want to disturb and ruin what other people build up.
I had this thought after watching again, how they placed the stone with the plaque. It´s not as fix and heavy as a gravestone.
And you never know, what stupid thoughts maybe come to people. Oh, I would go crazy, if someone will do something bad to this place.